Award-winning journalist, author and Fresno State alumnus Steve Levine returns to Fresno State to read from his latest book, “Powerhouse: America, China and the Great Battery War,” 2 p.m., February 10, in the Alice Peters Auditorium (Peters Business, Room 191). The free public event will also include a book signing following the reading.

“The Powerhouse” explores the potential geopolitical implications of emerging clean energy technology. LeVine argues that the creation of a better battery could undermine Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, endanger Saudi Arabia’s ruling family, threaten OPEC and transform China into one of the cleanest industrializing nations on the planet.

“Steve LeVine represents the spirit of creativity and critical thinking that characterizes lifelong-learners, artists and humanists who explore and write about issues that are relevant to the present and future of our world and our society,” said Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.

LeVine graduated from Fresno State in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and journalism. He spent 18 years as a foreign correspondent in the former Soviet Union, Pakistan and the Philippines, running a bureau for The Wall Street Journal. Before that he wrote for the New York Times, Financial Times and Newsweek.

Currently LeVine is the Washington correspondent for Quartz, a mobile-first startup launched in 2012 by Atlantic Media. He writes about the geopolitics of energy and technology. LeVine is also a Future Tense Fellow at the New America Foundation and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches energy security in the graduate-level Security Studies Program.

“The Powershouse” is LeVine’s third book. In 2007, Random House published his first book, “The Oil and the Glory,” which chronicled the struggle for fortune and power on the Caspian Sea. BusinessWeek magazine selected it as a Top 10 book for the year. In 2008, Random House published his second book, “Putin’s Labyrinth,” a profile of Russia through the life and death of a half-dozen Russians. Both books are on numerous university reading lists.

LeVine lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Nurilda, and their two daughters.